In the End
by Tero Ne
Summary: Another Holiday Fic, occurs over Thanksgiving break. Pre-established friendship which Dave tries to sabotage because he is an asshole. That's the summary: Dave is an asshole.


Summary: Another Holiday Fic, occurs over Thanksgiving break. Pre-established friendship which Dave tries to sabotage because he is an asshole. That's the summary: Dave is an asshole.

AN: Kinda Sburb-less but they have powers. The ending is totally Ibis's fault, but I promise there is a happy ending. The parts italicized are in Dave's head with Dave also being bolded.

* * *

"I hear you're the college slut."

John's head whips around and locates the source of the southern drawl leaning up against his dorm room's door frame.

"Dave! What? No- it's not what- I mean- it's not like- no. Fuck."

"Chill, bro. I was teasing. Though it sounds like I might have found a gold mine."

John's eyes go wide from behind the black frames.

"Nevermind. Forget I said all that. Haha, funny, Dave. So fucking funny." John inserts some fake laughter as he gets to his feet. "Now what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Texas?"

"Well, the gods smiled upon my little college and the admins granted us the full week off for Thanksgiving and with Bro out of town with his crazy island boyfriend, I decided to visit my best bro up in the rainy corner of the world. The opening line was based on a rumor I heard from a very tiny ball of anger that we consider a mutual friend though I pared the number of colorful adjectives down because otherwise I would still be spewing a repeat of his word vomit. Seriously that guy comes up with the most creative and anatomically impossible curses. I'd love to live a day in his head."

"I'm going to kill Karkat."

"So he's actually right?"

"Well..."

"Whatever happened to 'saving it for marriage' and 'I'm not a homosexual' and all that bullshit that basically defined your years of puberty?"

"Uh..."

"I mean, the way I hear it, it just costs a burger to get your legs up in the air and not even one of those big juicy burgers but a wimpy weeny dollar burgers that have been sitting under a heat lamp all day long. A side of fries to get you on your knees."

"Dave!"

"And all this happened without telling your best friend that you might even be a little bit interested in dick before you went through the football team like a buffet." John stares at Dave with a slack jaw. Somewhere in the back of his head he compared the dull monotony of Dave's words to the flat two-dimensional red text of their usual communication. He's not able to decipher the emotions behind either. Only Rose and Jade seem able to do that. "No wonder you didn't want to talk about your sex life. I thought you were just uncomfortable listening to my relationship screw ups but you were actually probably sucking too much dick to pay attention."

"Dave..."

"Hey, want to get a burger? I'll even splurge for a deluxe."

_Reset? Y/N_

**_no_**

Dave grabs John's extended wrist as John careens through the space between them in an attempt to connect his fist to Dave's cheek. Instead, Dave's pull sends him flying into the cabinets just beyond, with his momentum crashing face against the faux wood. He turns back to Dave with his blue eyes seeing red. His lips are curled up in a fighting snarl. He lunges for a second attack.

_Reset? Y/N_

**_yes_**

Dave steps aside as John careens through the space between them in an attempt to connect his fist to Dave's cheek. After not hitting anything, John catches himself on the cabinets beyond.

"Call me out, John. Call me out on anything I've said that is wrong, incorrect, false, only gossip. Tell me I'm wrong."

"Get out, dave." John yanks open the front door and gestures broadly at it.

_Reset? Y/N_

**_yes_**

Dave doesn't dodge as John careens through the space between them to connect his fist to Dave's cheek sending his signature shade clattering to the floor. Dave's shoulder connects with the faux wood of the cabinet doors, the only thing keeping him upright. Red eyes casually survey the clash of emotions on John's face, reading the anger, embarrassment, regret, confusion, hurt, and other poignant emotions.

_Reset? Y/N_

**_ouch no_**

"How dare you say that shit. It's not like that at all. Yes, I've dated. Yes, I've slept around. Yes, I'm gay. But you can't come in and say those things like that. How could I come out to you when I could barely get a word in edgewise, when all you do is talk about girls and how awesome Jordan and Sam and Erin are. Yea, that's right, I even know the names of your girlfriends. I remember then because I am a good friend and read every word in those walls of red text, I listened to every word of your long drawn out rambles on those late night calls. But how could I tell you I was say when you were so straight!"

"Jordan isn't always a girl's name. Sam as in Samuel. and Aaron spelled with an A."

"What?" John's face is perfectly slackjawed.

"Listened to every word, huh? Missed a lot of the context there John. I'm just as gay as you."

John's legs give out and he sinks to the ground. "Well shit."

"Nice try there at the righteous rant though. English classes must be paying off. Good switch from biology. Though you need to get your parking pass swapped before they tow you for excess of tickets trying to park at the Literature building."

"Is there anything you don't know about my life?"

"Not really. Between the psycho gossip- I mean, psychologist sister and the angry ball of fluff, I get my weekly Egbert Update without fail."

"He'll kill you if he hears you call him that."

"She'd kill me too. But you are going to kill him first, right. You could do it too with that mean right hook of yours."

"Shit shit shit" John crawls over to him and gently touches his reddening cheek. "I'm so sorry, Dave!"

"Nah, I deserved it. Still kinda hungry though."

"How about I buy the burger to make up for the black eye?"

_Reset Y/N_

**_no_**

John's hand still hasn't left Dave's face and the heat doesn't really feel good against the blood rushing to the area but the way John's face softens back down from anger over words said to embarrassment over hitting his best friend keeps Dave still. At least until Dave leans forward to quickly close the short distance between them and kiss him.

John still doesn't react as his brain races. Yes, he might have kissed a lot of guys on campus as he's dated, but the reason he kissed a lot was that none of the kisses he's experienced have that edge he's been looking for. The spark that's talked about in romances and mentioned in the same breath as love and lust. Some have come close but usually it fades almost by the second kiss.

This felt like a lightning bolt had just kissed him. Everything was hot and soft and perfect.

Dave feels him freeze up and quickly pulls away.

_Reset Y/N_

**_yes_**

John's hand still hasn't left Dave's face and the heat doesn't really feel good against the blood rushing to the area.

"It's so soft because I use baby lotion as moisturizer."

John pulls his hand away as if he had been burned. "Sorry!"

"No, no, I understand. I caress my face for hours before I go to bed. It's like a silk teddy bear that helps me drift off into dreamland filled with smooth skinned clouds and moisturized hopes. No dry itchy nightmares there," Dave rambles as he climbs to his feet. John grabs his shades from where they had ended up across the room and passes them to him.

Dave takes them and tucks him into the collar of his shirt instead of sliding them onto his face. John stares at the gesture, trying to decide if it is a gesture of peace and openness or if Dave's cheek hurts too much to put them on. Dave's eyes are always nice. John's always like seeing them. He catches himself from leaning into towards Dave.

Dave shifts from foot to foot under the heavy gaze.

_Reset Y/N_

**_yes_**

John grabs his shades from where they had ended up across the room and passes them to him.

Dave slides them onto his face, the frames hiding a little bit of the swelling flesh of his cheek. John hides the look of disappointment on his face by turning away to grab his wallet and keys from the nearby counter. Dave's eyes were always nice. John had always liked to see them. But he rarely took them off during the day and it has to be ridiculously dark for him to take them off.

"Uh, ready to go?"

"Saying I haven't stepped out of the entranceway, sure."

* * *

They head out to the nearest burger joint, a quaint diner with steaks and malts. True to his word, John buys Dave a burger and gets himself one. Dave sneaks back up the the counter and buys John a milkshake with a mental apology for crashing his apartment without warning. Not that he says that out loud to John.

"So what does this get me?" Dave asks as he slides back into the vinyl booth, passing the tall malt over to John after plucking the cherry off of the top.

"A kiss, dumbass," John answers as he rolls his eyes.

"Recent change in rate? Gonna be a classy girl one day, Egbert?"

"Don't make me give you a second black eye." John lifts his milkshake up to his lips, bypassing the spoon. The whipped cream gives him a mustache when he finally pulls away. Even before John is aware of movement, Dave leans over the table and kisses him with a small additional lick to get the rest of the whipped cream. John just blinks at him as Dave lowers himself back into the seat.

"Just taking what I paid for."

John still doesn't react as his brain races. Yes, he might have kissed a lot of guys on campus as he's dated, but the reason he kissed a lot was that none of the kisses he's experienced have that edge he's been looking for. The spark that's talked about in romances and mentioned in the same breath as love and lust. Some have come close but usually it fades almost by the second kiss.

This felt like a lightning bolt had just kissed him. Everything was hot and soft and creamy and perfect.

The blank look on John's face makes Dave's insides turn cold.

_Reset? Y/N_

**_yes_**

"Don't make me give you a second black eye." John lifts his milkshake up to his lips, bypassing the spoon. The whipped cream gives him a mustache when he finally pulls away.

"Got some on your lip," Dave gestures to his own face.

John almost gives himself a bloody lip trying to reach up and smear it away quickly. "Better?"

"Sure."

_Reset? Y/N_

**_why are you asking me again_**

_Reset? Y/N_

**_no_**

John catches a faint frown dancing briefly on Dave's lips, disrupting the usual straight line of the meticulous poker face. But before he can say anything, Dave corrects himself.

"Do I have something on my face, Egbert? You've been staring kinda intently."

"Uh, nope. Sorry. Just kinda spacey today I guess. I mean, you really surprised me, Dave, showing up unannounced I mean. Though how did you even get into my apartment complex."

"A combination of southern charm and badass ninja skills. There are no walls that I cannot breach, Egbert. My only issue would be if my princess is in another castle. Though I guess it would be a prince in this situation."

"I'm your prince, Dave?"

_**Reset.**_

_Reset? Y/N_

_**i just said that yes**_

"A combination of southern charm and badass ninja skills. There are no walls that I cannon breach, Egbert. My only issue would be if the princess is in another castle."

Egbert pauses as if waiting for more. "Nice video game reference, nerd. How do you get away with maintaining that coolkid persona?"

"Lots of apple juice and and unflappable demeanor even in the hottest of Texan suns and you don't know hot until you've been on the roof of an apartment building getting your ass kicked by the raddest older brother under the noonday sun in the peak of summer. Third degree burns if you touch anything remotely metal, glass, or black. Tennis shoes start melting. I wouldn't be surprised if those scorch marks on the edge of the building had been crows briefly touching down for a quick break from flying through the hundred percent humid too hot and too heavy air before spontaneously combusting from the insanity of the sun and superheated concrete."

"Is it really that bad?" John raises a skeptical eyebrow at him.

"Except hotter."

Conversation continues about nothing. John brings up little stuff from his day to day life at college, avoiding any mention of his dating life. Dave catches him up about what he is currently working on down in his Texan university. The tone and cadence of the dialog switch from casual best friends chatting to awkwardness as the two of them think about different stuff in the background.

Dave tries to review his resets and thinks about the reactions of his actions. Something feels off and he can't quite pinpoint it. The extra reset is a symptom of that. And the number of resets that he's used. He has to tread carefully.

John stumbles as he works around saying certain things, but he too has a sensation that something is off, that he shouldn't be just sitting in the middle of the restaurant talking with his handsome best friend. Did he just think handsome? Shit. John mentally shakes himself and refocuses on Dave, his best friend.

"Um, so, hey, instead of sitting here in awkward silence in the middle of this wonderful two star restaurant we head back to your place and see if I can't still kick your ass at Mario Kart or some other classic game?"

"Yeah, that sounds good."

* * *

John finally beats him on the seventh straight game. He celebrates with a lot of noise and cheering and jumping around on the sofa. Dave dodges his flailing limbs as much as he can, scooting away from John's bouncing ass, though he wouldn't mind if that ass landed in his lap...

"I win, I win, na na na na," John sings at him.

"So what? It's like one to sixty billion. Congrats. You are the winner, dumbass."

"You're just a sore loser."

"Whatever. How about I make the trip to the refrigerator to grab the beer since you won?" Dave pushes himself up off the couch.

"It's still my beer you're drinking."

"Do you want one or not?"

"Yeah, sure. But don't think that me drinking will make me any worse at this game."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure you can't get worse. When you are at the bottom, the only direction is up."

"Fuck you."

"I didn't know you topped."

_Reset? Y/N_

**_... no_**

"I- I- I-" Dave glances over his shoulder and finds John's face bright red.

"Chill, dude. It's a fucking joke." Dave opens the fridge. "You're beer stash isn't though. Holy shit. We're having a good night tonight." Dave pulls the case out and brings it over to the couch and opens it up.

"We can't drink all of that tonight!"

"Wanna bet?" He passes John a bottle with a challenge in his eye.

"You are going to kill me." John takes the beer anyways.

"Nah, just your liver. Come on, let's see if you can't up your win loss ratio."

Twenty games and ten beers later, the ratio remains the same but the chance of either of them winning or even finishing the race has dropped off into impossible.

"Shit. Just throw on a movie. I think my title as king is secure."

"Fuck you. You cheated."

"Oh, like climbing into my lap isn't cheating."

"I didn't climb into your lap. I just took up more space on the couch!" John defends as he gets up to change videogames for a movie.

"So how'd you end up doing guys?"

_Reset? Y/N_

**_nah_**

"Wha?" John nearly trips over air at the question. He looks back at the couch and sees Dave staring intently down the neck of his latest beer bottle. "Ah, well, it was at a party. Actually right after last time you visited. My first kiss was a dare."

"Was your first fuck a dare too?"

"Dave! Don't be so vulgar!"

"Answer the question, dumbass."

"No, of course it wasn't. The kiss just felt... right. It wasn't at all like kissing Rose or Vriska. So I ended up asking the guy out. Didn't work out, but it opened the possibilities. And it feels more right."

"Huh." Dave swirls his beer around. "I dare ya to kiss me."

"Dave!" The panic on John's face is comical as he backs up into the wall.

_Reset? Y/N_

**_yes_**

"Huh." Dave swirls his beer around. "I dare ya to stand still."

"Wha-"

Dave stands and stalks over to a startled John. John takes the two steps back to the wall, breaking the dare. Dave follows him anyways, grabs the back of his neck and pulls him into a kiss.

John doesn't react as his brain races. Yes, he might have kissed a lot of guys on campus as he's dated, but the reason he kissed a lot was that none of the kisses he's experienced have that edge he's been looking for. The spark that's talked about in romances and mentioned in the same breath as love and lust. Some have come close, starting with that first dare, but usually it fades almost by the second kiss.

This felt like a lightning bolt had just kissed him. Everything was hot and soft and perfect even if it did taste like cheap beer.

Dave sobs when he breaks the kiss.

"Fu-

_Reset? Y/N_

**_FUCK!_**

_Reset? Y/N_

**_yes goddamn it reset_**

"Huh." Dave swirls his beer around.

"What? No dare? Chicken," John scoffs.

"I dare ya to streak around the campus."

"Pfft. What are you, a freshman?" He turns on the movie and flops back onto the couch. In his fairly drunk state, he ends up against Dave, who absently leans into the warmth.

Dave groans at the choice of movie and John just punches his arm before agreeing to a drinking game related to the movie which should finish off the case by Dave's calculations.

During the fifth romantic scene, when Dave should have been taking a drink, he finds himself in between beers. "Dude, let me have your beer."

"No."

"Why not? Are you afraid of cooties?" Dave jeers as he reaches for the one in John's hand anyways. John of course leans way with Dave leaning in after him until nearly on top of him.

"Uh, Dave?"

Dave glances down now and finds a beet red face inches from his own. John looks so cute when he is embarrassed. Cute enough to kiss. Close enough to kiss. That's at least two points towards kissing him.

John doesn't react as his brain races. Yes, he might have kissed a lot of guys on campus as he's dated, but the reason he kissed a lot was that none of the kisses he's experienced have that edge he's been looking for. The spark that's talked about in romances and mentioned in the same breath as love and lust. Some have come close, starting with that first dare, but usually it fades almost by the second kiss.

This felt like a lightning bolt had just kissed him. Everything was hot and soft and perfect even if it did taste like cheap beer.

Dave scrambles away, nearly falling off the arm of the couch.

**_reset!_**

**_reset damn it!_**

**_oh dont do this to me!_**

**_FUCKING RESET!_**

_Reset? Y/N_

**_YES! yes yes yes fuck please_**

"Are you afraid of cooties?" Dave reaches for a fresh beer, raising an eyebrow as John flinches away from the movement. "Dude, you know cuties aren't real, right?"

"Yeah of course. I just thought..."

"Thought what?"

"That you were gonna do something else. Whatever. Just enjoy the movie, numbnuts."

* * *

John is nearly drooling on Dave's shoulder by the time the movie ends. The final beer count ended up with Dave ahead by two. He nudges John awake as the credits roll.

"Huh? Oh. Ah." John sways to his feet and miraculously gets to his bedroom door. He pauses there as if forgetting something and on cue, he looks back at Dave.

"Oh, you need sleep too. Uh..." He scrunches his face up as he tries to process the though through his sleepy, drunk brain. "Um..."

"What? I can't crash in your bed-"

_Reset? Y/N_

**_yes. god yes_**

"I'll just grab a nearby hotel."

John's face falls in disappointment.

_Reset? Y/N_

**_...yes_**

"Any way I could use your couch? Otherwise I'll have to go bug Lalonde for something and you know how she'll make me beg and probably record it for prosperity."

"Oh yea!" He perks up enough to wander farther down the hall. Dave leans over on the couch to try to follow, but John returns soon enough with an arm full of pillows and blankets. "Of course! I mean, yes to the couch. And yes to Rose, but I won't make you suffer that. And not Karkat either. Does he even know you are here? Though I probably would have heard about it from him if you had, because besides his professors and work schedule, he complains about you a lot." He hands Dave the bundle.

"Well, as he is my fated friend, I tend to scar him with details of my personal exploits." John shifts on his feet, uncomfortable with the types of stories he is imagining Dave sharing. "He's had complete walkthroughs of my Starcraft tournaments." Dave shakes out the blanket and starts arranging it on the couch. "Now go the fuck to sleep."

"Right, right. Night, Dave." John disappears into his room, closing the door behind him.

"Goodnight, John," Dave says to himself just before he hears a loud thump. He snickers before pulling off his shirt and taking off his socks and snuggling down on the couch.

* * *

Dave wakes up, slightly disoriented by the unfamiliar ceiling and by blankets that smell like his best friend. When he hears another series of soft thumps, he realizes what probably woke him up.

"Oi, Egbert. Go back to bed, you drunk shit. Stop stumbling around," he calls out. The next series of thumps are even louder. When there is a crash, Dave gets worried. He gets up and pads over to the bedroom door. He knocks and calls out, "I'm coming in, better stop choking the chicken before I get an eyeful."

Dave opens the door, looks inside, and is tempted to shut it again without response. If he didn't have his own time shit he wouldn't have believed it. But he did, so seeing John floating a couple feet above his bed with his blanket threatening to slip off of one leg above the knocked over lamp isn't actually that much of a stretch.

John is floating.

Sleep floating.

John is floating.

John has powers like Dave.

Dave takes a long moment standing at the door, staring at his friend. He decides to intervene when one of John's buoyed arms threatens to knock more things off of his nightstand. He crosses the room and reaches for John, but as soon as he grabs his arm, John drops onto the bed.

The fall jolts John away and he blinks rapidly up at the shape looming, standing next to him. Then his waking brain puts all of the pieces together.

"I can explain-" John starts.

"You got flying floating powers when I got sick time powers." Dave shrugs back at him and walks out into the main room. John scrambles to put his glasses on, untangle his legs from his sheets, and follow Dave out to find him about to sit back on the couch with two glasses of water. Dave passes one to John before they both sit down. The darkness, cut by the ambient street light outside of the window filtering through the blinds, partially hides the glances that they give each other as they figure out how to broach the subject.

"So," John starts timidly. "Time powers?"

"Yea. It's not like I can go back and visit the dinosaurs or go leap ahead and play the stocks like I'm psychic though that would be fucking sweet. It's just- I can reset events."

"Like Nic Cage in Next?"

"I really should punch you in the face for comparing me to Nicolas 'I can't figure out facial expressions' Cage. But yes, kinda like that."

"That sounds easier to use than my floaty thing. I can't fly and if I did, people would look at me funny. I haven't been able to get more than ten feet off the ground."

"Still ten feet more than anyone else."

"Well, maybe. I thought I was the only one who had anything. I mean, no one else is going around spouting off super powers. There aren't any superheroes saving cities. But you also have powers. Makes me wonder if others do to. Like Rose. Or Jade. Or even Karkat."

"Karkat has a special power, the ability to formulate extravagant curses that somehow convey his unending anger and amuse me to high heaven but still can't understand that I taunt him just to receive even more brilliant examples of his wordsmithing abilities."

"I don't think that counts..."

"Probably not. But I wouldn't put it past them to have something that they are hiding. I know Rose is hiding something. You, I didn't know but it doesn't actually surprise me that much." They both take a sip of water to fill the pause. "So how do you usually handle the sleep floating?"

"I usually don't? Float I mean. Usually I'm not drunk when I fall into bed. I guess I could use the cuf-" John nearly bites his tongue with how fast the cuts the word off. Dave glances over at him and even in the pale light he can see John's face is bright red. "Can you reset that please and make sure I don't say that next time."

"Why?"

"Isn't that what you've been doing? I mean, that sort of explains a lot of today. I think I felt some of them."

"Uh..." Dave's mind races.

"Now I want to know what embarrassing shit you've undone."

"No."

"Oh come on."

"No..."

"Please?"

"Fine. I did shit like this." Dave leans over, grabs the back of John's head, and kisses him without giving him time to pull away.

John doesn't react as his brain races. Yes, he might have kissed a lot of guys on campus as he's dated, but the reason he kissed a lot was that none of the kisses he's experienced have that edge he's been looking for. The spark that's talked about in romances and mentioned in the same breath as love and lust. Some have come close, starting with that first dare, but usually it fades almost by the second kiss.

This feels like a lightning bolt had just kissed him. Everything is hot and soft and perfect.

Until Dave starts to pull away.

"And then you do that shit so I res-" He's cut off as John grabs him back and kisses him.

"Don't you dare," John breathes against his lips before kissing him again.

Dave feels his time powers ticking in the back of his head but the usual prompt doesn't come up. So instead he relaxes against the kiss. Their hands are already holding each other close and pulling each other closer until the angle between them, sitting next to each other on the couch, is too uncomfortable. Then it's just a quick shift and John is suddenly straddling Dave without losing the kiss.

Both of them mentally agree that this is a much better position. Their bare chests press together as Dave's head tilts back. Dave's hands run up and down John's back as he leans down to keep his lips pressed to Dave's, and John's hands do the same to Dave's back as he leans forward away from the couch. Dave decides the distance is too much and pulls John's hips forward. Both of them gasp at the pressure, breaking the contact between their lips. John rests his forehead against Dave's and stares down into the darkened rubies. Dave swears that John's blues glow as they catch the late night light.

"How many- how many times did you kiss me, Dave, and reset it?" he asks quietly.

"Not sure. Probably three, four times?"

"Four times? I want to punch yo-"

"Today."

"Today? You've done it before?"

"Years back. And last time I visited. And you did the same deer in the headlight thing then too. What the fuck dude?"

"How would you feel if you kissed lightning?"

"What?"

"That's what it feels like to kiss you. It's perfect. It's right. It's that spark. And I sound like a romantic nut."

"Romantic enough not to punch me?" Dave asks sheepishly.

"I'm going to punch you on the mouth with my lips."

"Gently?"

"Nope." He follows it up with a rough hard kiss that takes Dave's breath away. Dave thinks about John calling him lightning and decides that kissing John is like a drug, though he can't decide which. Part of him wants to say novacaine from how John's hands dragging through his hair makes his scalp tingle and how his lips makes Dave's mouth numb. But another part of him argues that it feels like a high is coming on, with that rush upwards towards bliss but slowed down so he can feel everything in extraordinary detail so that it's both too much and not enough.

But it's more than just a high with John because it feels like there is no ceiling. Now that Dave isn't panicking about John's reaction he can sink down into it and it feels like heaven. Stupid John. Stupid John for making him wait for this. He clutches at John's back, running his hands over the smooth muscles and pulling him down against his lap as he rocks upward.

Everything is hot and rough and perfect.

Dave wants to hear the little sounds that he can taste as they rub together and so he grabs John's hair and pulls his head back, his lips now attacking the exposed column of John's neck. Those sounds are set free and they are delicious. There are variations of moans and mewls as Dave touches John in different places in different ways. A kiss to the jaw, a suck on his collar bone, a grip on his hip, a pull on his hair, a rake of nails down his back, a lick up his throat, a grind against the erection in his soft pajama pants. Dave curses his jeans now trapped under John's undulating body. He curses all clothes between them.

"Dave!"

"John," Dave murmurs back into his skin. His hands dip below John's waistband and cup the fine ass waiting to be fondled underneath making him cry out again. His fingers grip the soft flesh and massage the muscle which makes John grind down on Dave's still trapped erection. Dave bites at the tendons in John's neck to counter the pain of his jeans being rubbed against him as his fingers explore deeper. Just as the tip of his middle finger brushes across John's entrance, John pulls away.

_Reset? Y/N_

Dave feels the ticking rise in his mind as he subconsciously reaches for his power.

"Bedroom. Now. Please," John is begging as he stands up, grabbing Dave's hands and pulling him along.

_**no**_

Dave lets John pull him up and towards the other room, pausing to pull John back enough to kiss him roughly against the doorframe. He loves the way John's back arches off of the wood towards him even as Dave traps his shoulders back. John's fingers undo his jeans for him and he lets them slide down his legs when he lets John go free. He takes the time to kick them off his feet and pushes his underwear down to join them a couple more steps in. He finds John's pajama pants in a similar state of discard even further in. He finds John himself rummaging about in his nightstand drawer.

Dave slaps his ass on his way over to flop onto the bed. John lets out an indignant squeak that turns into a cheer of triumph as his hands wrap around what he is looking for. Dave gives him an approving look when John holds up a condom and a small bottle of lube. But his eyes don't easily stay at John's hands and begin to roam the rest of him. From the broad chest and strong arms toned with his part time construction job to the narrowing hips that bracket a smooth stomach with enough dark hair that Dave wants to drag his hands through on their way down to wrap around that pretty dick hanging between John's legs.

John hesitates a second under Dave's predatory survey. This is going pretty fast even if Dave was his best friend. Though on the flip side, why didn't this happen earlier. They've been best friends for years. So technically their courting began at some point during that time. John glances down at the lanky body draped almost artistically across his bed, all smooth muscle, pale hair and even paler skin. And a cock to make his mouth water. In fact he is so engrossed that he doesn't see the hand reaching out to grip his own until it is touching him. Dave's touch is hot and makes John gasp as Dave pulls it and him onto the bed.

John catches himself and somehow turns the fall into something respectable as he settles on top of Dave. The kissing and groping resumes and it's made so much better without any clothes between them. This time when Dave grabs John's ass and dips his fingers into the crack they are wet with lube. Instead of pulling back, John moans into Dave's mouth with encouragement. The first fingertip works its way inside of him and he rolls his hips back onto it for more. Dave chuckles at his enthusiasm but refrains from any smart comments about how easy it is to work a second finger in.

Dave's kissing turns to nips and bites that work their way down to John's neck as he arches above Dave as the fingers work on scissoring and stretching him open. John's moans makes Dave want to record them and mix them and he does everything he can to draw out more sounds by twisting his fingers and rubbing John's tight channel. John gasps and pants and his words are purposefully broken by Dave as he plays him from below.

"Da- Gah! Fu- Dave! Ple- Ple- Fu- Please fu- Please fuck me!"

"I don't know, John. You are cute enough like this. Could work you for hours."

"No! Please no! I need you! I need you now! Please! Fucking hell!" John rips himself out of Dave's grip and lunges for the condom. Dave just laughs and relaxes back, almost putting his hands behind his head before he remembers where his hand has been. So instead he uses the extra lube on his hand to slick up his dick before John knocks it away to roll the condom down its length. He dribbles more lube over the latex and then straddles Dave's hips again.

Dave watches the way John bites his lip in concentration as he lines himself up with Dave instead of watching his cock disappear into John's tight ass. He watches how John screws his eyes shut against the stretch that is probably very familiar based on how fast he soon relaxes into a happy whimper when John is fully seated. He watches as the corner of his lips twitch up into a smile.

Dave tries to smile back up at him when John looks down at him with those blue eyes. He supposes he passes because John goes ahead and starts rocking back and forth. It feels incredible to have John wrapped around his cock and the friction between them, even with the condom, is delicious. Dave loves the way John braces his hands on his chest to leverage himself up and down. Dave grasps at his thighs when John swivels his hips.

John loves the way Dave fills him up just right. The upward curve of his cock drags along his inner walls in a way that sparks electricity on each stroke. He loves the heat of Dave's hands on his body how they clutch and pull on him. He adores the soft grunts in the back of Dave's throat as he tries to keep quiet, tries to keep up that cool kid facade. They just want to make John ride him harder to coax them into full blown moans. Maybe even make Dave scream out his name. He loves how Dave says his name.

"Dave! Oh god, you feel so good!"

"John," Dave says back, making shivers run down John's spine.

This is what Dave wanted right? This is what he wanted when he kissed John that first time (and then reset the timeline). This is what he wanted when he skipped classes and drove all the way from Houston to Seattle on the guise of Thanksgiving break. This is what he wanted from when Karkat first dropped the bomb, the news of well satisfied gentleman caller leaving John's room. This is what he's wanted since he first saw John's bright bubbly face and those stunning blue eyes over a Skype video call.

_Reset? Y/N_

He wanted this.

**_hell no_**

Dave braces his feet in the corners of his sheets and thrusts up into John. He enjoys the way John's eyes go wide and he loses the moan he was building up for a sharp gasp enough that he does it again. And again. And again.

John catches himself on the bed just above Dave shoulders and Dave pumps up into him. Dave pulls him down on each thrust. John makes a breathy gasp for each that sounds to much more real than the moans. They sound so much more like John. They sound so much more like they are just for Dave.

John grips the sheets and tucks his head against Dave's neck, but that muffles the sounds that Dave wants to hear. He grabs the back of John's hair and pulls him off, just enough to get him close to his ear.

"Don't hide from me."

John whines but doesn't fight the grip. Instead he rolls his hips down to meet Dave's upward thrusts and makes more happy noises for Dave.

"My- my name. Please, god please say my name," John pants out.

"John, John, John," Dave's voice starts off soft but slowly grows into a volume full of want and need.

"Yes, yes, oh god please!" John begs indiscriminately as he arches against Dave.

"John!"

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait," suddenly John is pulling away. Dave feels the ticking follow his panic. "I've always wanted to try something. Get on top of me." John slides off completely and looks on imploringly.

Dave glances down at the latex stretched over his cock. He wants to try something too.

"Hey, are you clean?"

"What? Uh, I mean I took a shower this morning, or last morning since it's morning again."

"No, like clean sexually?"

"Oh. Um, yes."

"Are you sure? Like have you been tested? I don't want to pick something up from the lacrosse team."

"Oh my god. There was only one lacrosse player and how does Karkat even know about him." John hides his burning face. "And yes, I've been tested. Don't you trust me?"

"You kept being gay a secret from me. I don't know what else you would be keeping from me," Dave shrugs nonchalantly.

"Do you fucking need to see the piece of paper with the results? It should be in the fucking pile of mail because I did it recently, you ass. I know how to keep myself healthy." John's tone shifts into something upset. He pulls farther away from Dave. "Are you clean? I mean, you're no virgin either."

"Of course I'm clean. I'm not stupid."

"But I'm stupid enough for you to think that I'm not. And then you can't even trust me when I say I'm fine. You know what," John crawls off the bed and grabs his pajamas, "get out and don't you dare res-"

_Reset? Y/N_

**_yes_**

"Hey, are you clean?"

"What? Uh, I mean I took a shower this morning, or last morning since it's morning again."

"No, like clean sexually?"

"Oh. Um, yes."

"I am too. If you trust me, can I take this off?" Dave gestures down to the condom.

"Of course I trust you!" Then he pauses as if thinking about something. "Did you just reset?"

"I did something really stupid and not worth mentioning."

John frowns at him. "Can you not do the reset thing? I mean, apparently you kissed me like ten times-"

"Four."

"-before it stuck. You shouldn't have to do that. Dave, will you promise not to do the reset thing with me?" He has a solemn, serious expression that he pins Dave with.

"I swear. And you get to actually punch me if I do."

"Good. Now where were we?"

"Deciding if I can fuck you bareback while you do whatever little surprise you wanted to do."

"Oh yeah!" John helps Dave take off condom and tosses it towards the trashcan. Dave doesn't know it it reaches because John is kissing him and rolling them together on the bed until Dave is on top. They pull apart just long enough for Dave to realign them and sink back into John. They both moan deeply at the hot feeling of nothing between them.

John locks his legs over the back of Dave's knees and tucks his feet under his shins. He then coaxes Dave to curl his arms under John's shoulders. Dave finds this a good way to pull John onto his cock and fuck him with short powerful strokes. John holds onto him tightly and closes his eyes.

The room gets noticeably chillier and Dave loses some of his leverage as the bed drifts away. Or as they drift away from the bed, Dave corrects in his head. He continues to fuck John against the curtain of air beneath then, lowly chanting his name. John's moans are broken by gasps of pleasure and concentration.

"Okay yeah, this is pretty sick. Floating sex wasn't on my bucket list but damn it should have been at the top. John, you are a brilliant son of a bitch."

"Dave, just shut up and fuck me."

"Yes sir." Dave grips him tight and does his best to fuck John. It's easier than it would seem, having sex up in the air. And thrilling too.

Dave's thrusts became more frantic and their altitude wavers as their pleasure mounts. They kiss and bite in between gasps and crying out each other's name. The entire length of their bodies where they touch each other burn with comfortable heat. Their lips spark as they clash together again and again trying to find balance between hearing the other's sounds and wanting to be connected. The air twists and swirls about them, cocooning them in a swath of white noise that grows as John fights his own concentration.

Dave tucks his head against John and breathes in his skin. John's nails rake across his back in lines of fire that make Dave pull him down harder. John's erection rubs against Dave's abs and makes the winds flutter around them. Dave watches the sheets bob beneath them, caught up in John's magic as well.

Dave grins at that, the prankster John, who put on little magic shows for his father and for Dave sometimes over video chat, now has real tangible magic. Not that he could become a superhero on just flying alone. But John could fly. And Dave had time powers that he abused like hell, but it's worth it to get to this point.

They are quickly approaching the point of no return and neither of them are looking to extend it out. At least not this time. Dave prays to whatever powers that by that he gets another time.

"John! Fuck, John!"

"Dave, I'm gonna-"

"Me too, John."

"Ah!" they cry out together with Dave only a couple pumps behind John coming between their chests. John shudders as he feels the wet heat of Dave's cum fill him up. Even through the blissful haze, Dave is impressed as they settle gently back onto the bed. They don't separate immediately though, enjoying the closeness of their fast beating hearts and soft murmurs that filter through their hard breathing.

Dave eventually rolls off, slipping out of John gently, only to have John follow him to curl up into his side. Dave flips the sheets over the both of them and then wraps an arm around John's shoulders. They both drift off to sleep.

Everything is calm and right and perfect.

* * *

Dave wakes up the next morning with an unfamiliar beam of light crossing his face. It takes him a second to remember what happened and orient himself to being in John's room, to being in John's bed, to having John propped up on his elbow staring at him.

"Mornin'," Dave drawls out.

"Hey. Your eyes are pretty."

"With or without the shiner."

John leans over and kisses the bruised skin in question. Dave sighs at the sweet gesture. "With. Because you are an asshole." Dave laughs at him. "Come to school up here."

The question drifts through Dave's mind, chasing away the cobwebs of sleep. He tries to come up with other things it could mean, but he's sure that John is being bluntly obvious.

"What?"

"Seattle has a good program. I'm sure the credits will transfer. I could use a roommate even if you lose terribly at Mario Kart. We have good coffee up here. And snow!"

"You're... you're serious."

"I'd go to Houston with you, but with Dad..." John trails off.

"Yeah, I getcha."

"I don't even know why we didn't end up at the same college. It would have saved us a lot of time. But don't you dare reset back to then because you'd just chicken out again, you dumb chicken."

"I don't think I could go back that far anyways."

"So what do you say? Come up to Washington and be with me."

Honestly, how could Dave say no to those big blue eyes? How could he say no to someone he's wanted for so long? How could he say no to ripping up what small, shallow roots he has in Houston to come grow deeper truer ones with John?

"Okay."

"Good." John flops back down onto Dave's chest, pressing his ear to his skin to hear the heartbeat underneath.

"I'll need to finish out the semester though."

"Of course. And you are coming to Thanksgiving dinner at Dad's place."

"Dude, that was my number one reason for coming. I couldn't take another fried turducken bastardization that Bro put together."

John giggles then falls silent as their breaths sync up.

"Dave?"

"Hm."

"I'm going to fall in love with you."

"M'kay."

* * *

"I can't believe that happen!" John bursts out. "I can't believe they actually did that! I mean, is that even legal?"

"I don't know but it was pure gold. I've never seen anyone react to brilliantly to the idea of smuppets before."

They are walking back to their apartment from an improvisational musical comedy and the winning musical choice had been Dave's. John had gotten the tickets for their one year anniversary. Their hands swing between them, fingers interlocked. Dinner and drinks had been at the show so Dave's already thinking about dessert. That he'll have in bed. In the form of John's cock.

"They managed to put on a whole musical about smuppets. An impromptu musical about smuppets. Now I have seen everything!" John raves.

"Yup, sweetheart. There is nothing else to see. You can die a happy man."

"Nope. Can't die. Haven't fucked you enough."

"You are insatiable," Dave shakes his head as they come up to the next corner. He opens his mouth to say something else but it's cut off as someone careens around the corner and nearly takes them out. All they see is a hooded sweatshirt erratically running down the street when they turn to look.

"Wonder what that was all about?"

_pop pop_

"What-" John's words are cut off with a gasp. Dave looks over at him and sees red on John's otherwise white buttondown shirt. Squealing tires come from a van speeding around the corner with someone hanging out of the window.

_pop pop pop_

"John?" Dave instinctively moves to catch John as he falls. "John!" More red bubbles out of John's lips and his eyes are wide in fright. "John! No no no!" Dave's hands go to the chest wound, pushing against the flow ineffectively. "Fuck no!" John's grip on him loosens. "Oh god no!"

The familiar ticking rises quickly at Dave's call.

John meets his eyes again and knows what Dave is going to do. He tries to speak to tell him no but only more blood comes out. He shakes his head and grabs Dave.

"I can save you."

_Reset? Y/N_

**_yes please_**

"-about?"

_pop pop_

"What-" John's words are cut off with a gasp.

"NO!"

**_RESET!_**

_Reset? Y/N_

**_YES!_**

"-that was all about?"

_pop pop_

"What-" John's words are cut off-

**_FUCK!_**

_Reset? Y/N_

**_YES! give me more time please please please_**

"Wonder what that-" Dave pulls John back a step away from the corner.

_pop pop_

"What-" John's words are cut off with a gasp.

**_MORE! GIVE ME MORE FUCKING TIME!_**

_Reset? Y/N_

**_YES!_**

"Wonder-" Dave pulls John back a step away from the corner and spins around to shield him.

"I love you."

_pop pop_

"Dave? Wha-" John pushes Dave back a little as squealing tires come from a van speeding around the corner with someone hanging out of the window.

_pop pop pop_

Dave staggers a bit and John has to catch him as he goes down to his knees. His arms go around Dave briefly but pull back when they feel a wetness. His hand is covered in red.

"Dave! Oh my god! No, no no! You didn't! You fucker promised me you wouldn't!"

Dave tries to tell him he's sorry. He tries to tell John that he had to. He tries to tell John that this was the only way. He tries to tell John that he can't go back any more, that he won't ever reset anymore because the ticking isn't there anymore. He tries to tell John that he loves him because just one more time wouldn't be enough. But it doesn't seem like there is any air in his lungs, only a wetness that can't be good.

"Dave! Dave! Reset damn it! Reset and fix this you asshole! Dave!"

It's getting cold and dark and all Dave wants to do is fall asleep in John's arms but John's shouting at him and he feels like it wouldn't be a good idea to fall asleep but it's so dark.

"Dave!"

**_be right back john ill be right b_**

* * *

Waking up feels like pain. There is an awful lot of pain even if it has fuzzy edges. It makes him ache all over. And that beeping is fucking annoying. And his throat feels like he deep throated a spiked club. A bit of water would be nice. He needs to go find some water. To go find some water, he needs to get up. In order to get up, he needs to start moving around. Before moving around, he needs to open his eyes. Before opening his eyes, he needs to wake up. But waking up probably means more pain.

But pain means he's not in heaven.

And if he's not in heaven then he's alive.

Which means waking up also means John.

Dave's eyes flutter open and Dave finds he's right that waking up and opening his eyes and moving his head around brings the pain into sharper focus.

"Fuck." His voice sounds terrible.

"Dave?"

"Strider speaking."

"More like asshole."

"I'm sorry."

His apologies don't stop the punch to his arm. He knows John can punch harder than that, but he's glad he doesn't as it sends pain all throughout his back.

"Water."

John scrambles around to get him a glass full. He holds it up to Dave's lips and lets him sip on it. After the slow first cup, he lets Dave drink a second a little faster. The cold liquid feels like heaven on his rough throat. He declines a third with a shake of his head that he instantly regrets.

"Wanna catch me up."

"You're an asshole," John pouts.

"Yeah. Caught that. Been one all my life according to Bro. Been your asshole for the last year."

"A year and a week."

"A week?"

"The surgery was pretty intensive. You were- you were-" John chokes up and Dave doesn't press while he gets back under control. Instead he notes the heavy scruff on John's face and hair that is twisted and wild more than usual. Probably from running his hand through it like he is doing now. "You were shot in the back by a drive-by gang shooting. They- they nearly didn't- didn't get you back. You almost died, you asshole!"

"I'm sorry."

"You reset!"

"Sorry."

"You promised."

"Sorry. I couldn't watch you die."

"So you were going to let me watch you?"

"I'm an asshole."

"I hate you."

"I love you."

"I love you too." John leans forward and kisses Dave. "Ew, coma breath."

"You're getting my face wet, dude." John hurriedly brushes the tears from his cheeks before kissing him again.

"You need the bath."

"I bet. First I could use some drugs."

"I'll go get a doctor." John gets up and sticks his head out the door. Dave gets to watch his ass, happy that he gets to see it again and maybe one day get to fuck it again. If John ever forgives him. When John comes back, three people are trailing him. One he doesn't recognize but the white coat gives him away as the person who will be delivering chemical relief. The other is an older gentleman with those same blue eyes as his boyfriend. Dave hopes that John will get the same graying temples and laugh lines as his father.

"Dave. It is good to see you are awake."

"Good to see you too, Dadbert."

"Hey, it's sleepin' beauty, just without the beauty part." The third person speaks up, somehow still maintaining his baseball cap inside the hospital.

"Oh shit. I really am in trouble if you're here, Bro."

"Yeah. You're grounded from now until eternity from catching bullets."

"Damn, what am I going to do for entertainment?"

"Could always fuck the cutie that you risked your life to save." John blushes a deep red and Mr. Egbert coughs in admonishment. "What? Just answerin' the question."

"Thanks, Bro. Now you can go back home to Houston."

"Not until I've had that turkey dinner you have been raving about. These guys refused to celebrate Thanksgiving while you were all laid up."

"Hey, doc, how much longer until I get out of here. Apparently we need to ritualistically carve up a large bird in order to banish this bastard back to Texas."

"Soon enough. You've been healing nicely despite the initial damage. But I'd recommend rest right now to let the drugs do their thing."

"Is that why I feel like cotton candy floating in a soda river right now?"

"Yes. Can everyone please leave?"

"John's stayin'," Dave replies sleepily as the drugs threaten to overtake him. "'cause I'm an asshole."

"Shhh, I'll be right here."

"Love you, John."

"I love you too, Dave."

Everything is safe and quiet and perfect.

* * *

AN: Again, blame Ibis for the ending.

This fic turned out a little bit differently than I am used to but I'm still experimenting with styles so let me know what you think about it with comments.

One more holiday fic after this one and then the Holiday Specials will be over.

Happy Thanksgiving!


End file.
